The term "pharmacognosy" was coined by Anotheus Seydler, a German botanist, from the two Greek words "pharmakon", meaning drug or medicine, and "gnosis", meaning knowledge. Even today, about a quarter of all prescription drugs in the United States have one or more bioactive compounds derived from plants.
Pharmacognosy By Tyler 17.pdf
According to the American Society of Pharmacognosy, the definition of pharmacognosy is "the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological properties of drugs, drug substances or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin, as well as the search for new drugs from natural sources."
Pharmacognosy involves botanical knowledge to classify and name the plant and understand its genetic pattern and its cultivation. Chemical knowledge is also important in this field for isolating, identifying, and quantitatively assessing the bioactive compounds in the plant sources. Finally, pharmacology plays a role in pharmacognosy, as it allows for researchers to detect and evaluate the biological properties of plants and determine their effects on living systems.
Traditionally, pharmacognosy was recognized as a vital part of drug development processes and pharmacy education; however, the advent of new miracle drugs that can be synthesized in the laboratory led to a decline in its practice.
The respect for ancient wisdom is reflected in the form of phytotherapy and phytopharmaceuticals. The use of plant products to treat illnesses is well known in South American nations, China and India, where billions of dollars are spent on pharmacognosy research to identify and market natural medicinal drugs.
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine.[1] With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies, such as the anti-malarial group of drugs called artemisinin isolated from Artemisia annua, a herb that was known in Chinese medicine to treat fever.[2][3] There is limited scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of plants used in 21st century herbalism, which generally does not provide standards for purity or dosage.[1][4] The scope of herbal medicine commonly includes fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts. Herbal medicine is also called phytomedicine or phytotherapy.[5] 2ff7e9595c
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